Community Care in Regina

In the North Central neighborhood of Regina, Sask., community transformation is happening through shared meals, cultural teachings, and relationships built on trust. At the CRC’s Indigenous Christian Fellowship (ICF), director Joe Elkerton and his team work alongside staff, volunteers, and community partners to create spaces of belonging, healing, and practical support for neighbors across the city.

This commitment to walking with the community is expressed through a range of community programs and gatherings. Weekly after-school cultural programs now run in three schools, with a fourth launching soon. Each program has approximately 12-16 students attending consistently.

“We go right after school,” explains Jen Klyne, one of the program leaders. “We do games and crafts, and we try to instill Indigenous teachings in everything we do. We always begin with a smudge and a circle, and we bring in knowledge keepers to share teachings because the kids need to know about our culture and traditions.”

For many young Indigenous people, navigating life in an urban setting can be challenging, and these gatherings help to provide safety and connection.

“The kids are starting to open up,” Klyne said. “They recognize this as a safe space. They’re able to talk to us about things happening in their personal lives, sometimes just over a juice box and some artwork. They know they have support outside of their relatives at home.”

ICF also runs a program specifically for young Indigenous women, ages 12-18, focused on cultural teachings and personal empowerment. The program meets two Saturdays a month and guides the participants through teachings and traditional protocols. The program culminates in a year-end culture camp and has included a Christmas dinner for 50 participants, celebrating both community and achievement. Through these gatherings, the young women are connecting with cultural practices that were once lost; they are also gaining confidence and building a sense of identity and belonging in an urban setting.

Food security remains a central part of ICF’s work. The team distributes weekly emergency hampers to low-income families, serving 16-19 households every two weeks. In addition, for their Christmas outreach this past year, ICF provided 77 family hampers complete with turkeys, gifts, and treats.

“On top of the Christmas food hampers, we coordinated toys for the children in each family,” said Elkerton. The Christmas outreach was supported by the local community, including churches and a youth hockey team. Elkerton said, “It was all hands on deck.”

What’s more, during the Christmas season, approximately 600 meals for community members were prepared and served, with many delivered directly to those unable to attend. An additional 80 meals were served as well at a special grandmothers’ Christmas dinner.

“We were cooking for three or four days,” Elkerton said. “When it came time to serve, it was like an assembly line. We know the people who come through, and we make sure that those who can’t come still receive a meal.”

Volunteers make much of this work possible. This year 30-50 volunteers helped to keep ICF programs running during the holiday season. “Some of our volunteers once needed support themselves,” said Shannon Steeves, a staff member. “Others come through word of mouth.”

An emphasis on dignity runs through every program, Elkerton explained. Meals are thoughtfully prepared, not simply assembled from donations. “We’ve invested in the quality of the food,” he said. “We want to serve meals you’d want to eat at home. Just because someone is in crisis doesn’t mean they should receive something less.”

The same care, said Klyne, applies to ICF’s household furniture program, which helps families starting over by providing essential items such as beds, sofas, kitchen tables, and cookware. “If you wouldn’t sit on a stained couch, why would another family want to?” Klyne said. “We check the quality of everything before we pass it on.”

Alongside cultural programming, faith shapes many of ICF’s gatherings, said Elkerton. On Friday afternoons, the ministry hosts an Overcomers group, a biblically based sobriety program developed through the Canadian Bible Society, reflecting ICF’s belief that spiritual care and practical support belong together. Midweek, a wellness counselor is also available for four hours of one-on-one counseling and therapy, offering accessible support for individuals navigating trauma, addiction, and personal challenges.

The team is also investing in training to strengthen both staff and community capacity. Some staff members and volunteers are participating in trauma-informed care training, and a two-day suicide prevention workshop will equip community members with practical tools to support one another.

“We’re trying to enhance the lives of our staff and increase the capacity of the community,” Elkerton said. The work responds to longstanding challenges in North Central Regina. Elkerton points to statistics that highlight the urgency: approximately 75 percent of people experiencing homelessness in Regina are of Indigenous ancestry, and Saskatchewan has among the highest rates of partner violence among Canadian capital cities.

“We’re focusing on trauma and asking how we build healthy communities and healthy families,” he said. “Issues like fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are also part of the broader realities people are living with here.”

For Klyne, the impact of the work remains deeply personal. “I was once on the other side of that door, trying my best to survive,” she said. “Now I get to be the support for families with kids who just need help making sure everyone eats.”

Klyne mentioned, for example, a conversation she had at the after-school program when a young girl began sharing about struggles at home. “I shared a bit about how I was raised, and she really related,” Klyne said. “It gave her the chance to open up more and ask for the support she needed. There was no judgment, just understanding.”

Recently the team adopted a guiding phrase: “working to make our ancestors proud.”

“It speaks to the resilience of Indigenous people,” Elkerton said. “They survived so much. We want to honor that resilience by living good lives and helping our community grow stronger.”

For the team at ICF, he said, faith is expressed through showing up consistently, offering care without judgment, and walking alongside neighbors as community is rebuilt.